Sunrise brief: Capital Power signs solar VPPA for Budweiser brewery

Alberta-based Capital Power said it signed a virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) with Labatt Breweries of Canada for 51% of the electricity generated by a planned 75 MW solar facility. The Enchant solar project has an estimated development cost of between C$90-$105 million ($72-$84 million).

Around one-quarter of the commitment will be bundled with project-generated renewable energy credits (RECs) directly from the solar facility; the remaining three-quarters will be bundled with RECs sourced elsewhere in Canada.

The solar energy will be used at a Labatt facility that brews Budweiser beer. Construction work on the Enchant solar project is expected to start in the second quarter of 2022 with commercial operations expected by the fourth quarter of 2022.

The deal marks AB InBev’s (Labatt’s parent company’s) 12th VPPA around the world and its first in Canada.

Investment for CleanCapital

CleanCapital announced a $300 million corporate investment from Manulife Investment Management to grow its portfolio of clean energy assets. The commitment was sourced for the John Hancock Life Insurance balance sheet as well as third party managed accounts.

CleanCapital said it will use the investment to operate solar, new-build solar, and energy storage projects, beginning with two portfolios totaling 63 MW. CleanCapital is buying two solar portfolios and a pipeline of assets that will start construction this year. The first portfolio is a 16 MW operating portfolio comprising 30 solar assets in 10 states.

Additionally, CleanCapital is now sole owner of a second 46.9 MW operating solar portfolio after originally acquiring it through an equity partnership with BlackRock Renewable Power Group in 2018. Made up of of 60 projects, the portfolio has 26 off-takers under long-term power purchase agreements.

CleanCapital’s acquisitions now total more than $775 million. The company manages 200 MW across 152 projects in 18 states.

Battery storage sets sail

Mobile energy storage provider Power Edison said it signed a contract with a U.S. utility to deliver a 3 MW, 12 MWh battery energy storage system. Power Edison supplies barge-based batteries to locations where land is at a premium or no available. An initial development pipeline of 500 MWh of capacity is going through final permitting and about to start construction, the company said.

Historic Grant house goes solar

The Grant Cottage State Historic Site in New York is getting all its power from an array of solar panels and is off the commercial power grid.

The $400,000 project included installation of 90 solar panels with a rated output of 34.2 kW, as well as 48 energy storage batteries.

State Parks staff who are trained solar technicians installed the system, which includes a generator for emergency use. Training assistance was provided by staff from nearby Hudson Valley Community College.

Since 2012, 33 solar array projects have been installed at park facilities across New York State. By the end of this year solar is expected to meet about 15% of the department’s total energy consumption. By 2027, the department has a goal of covering half of its electricity needs through renewable energy.

The mountaintop cottage and 43 surrounding acres are the location where President Ulysses S. Grant completed his memoirs shortly before his death in 1885. Published with support from Grant’s friend Mark Twain, the work assured the financial security of his widow, Julia, and their children, and is recognized as an important 19th century work of literature. The memoirs have never been out of print since their original publication.